Deaths: Preliminary Data for 2007 by Jiaquan Xu, Kenneth D - Essay Example

Deaths: 2007 Preliminary Data- A Brief Review It has been seen that for the year 2007, there was a slight drop in the rate of infant deaths, when compared with corresponding scenario of the preceding year (2006). Overall, it was noted that this decline in death rates is applicable to almost all ethnic groups residing in the US, such as white females, white males and black males, to cite a few. When the infant death rates of both the years (2007 and 2006) are considered together, it so transpires that there is a marginal rise in the average life expectancy, in 2007. (1)These key statistical figures throw light also on the vital fact that; this drop in mortality rate was seen only in infants whose ages were between one and four years.

When infants whose ages were less than one year were taken into account, a rather perturbing fact got noted: there was no striking decline in the rate of mortality. (1)A meticulous study of this report points out that the average life expectancy of infants, calculated at the time of birth, was nothing short of a record, for the year 2007! At 77.9 years, this particular figure reached an all-time high! As a matter of fact, there has been a predominantly steady lessening of the variation in life expectancies of infants pertaining to both the genders.

However, in this connection, it needs to be specifically emphasized that for the years 2007 and 2006, the gap in life expectancies of male and female infants has primarily been one and the same. (1)When the corresponding scenario of all the states of the US, for the year 2007, was viewed, it has been observed that Hawaii stands apart as the state where mortality rate is at it’s lowest. Likewise, West Virginia was the state where the related figure (mortality rate) had been the highest among all states. (1)In the year 2007, when the top 15 causative factors of infant mortality were considered, there was no major change in the scenario pertaining to the year 2006.

There has been a marked increase in infant casualties attributable to Alzheimer’s disease (in 2007). Similarly, there was a slight decline in deaths resulting from diabetes mellitus. Barring that, the leading causes of death (of infants) remained unchanged, with some of them being heart diseases, cerebrovascular ailments, pneumonia, influenza, suicide and homicide, amongst many others. (1)Despite the fact that HIV virus has not yet reached the level where it can get included in the list of leading causes of death, yet; the related situation is rather perturbing.

For the year 2007, approximately 11,000 casualties directly resulted from HIV virus. This definitely is a situation warranting immediate corrective measures from both the medical fraternity and also the general public. (1)This particular review can be concluded with the comment that, on the whole, there has surely been an improvement in the year 2007, with regard to drop in instances of infant mortality. Given the consistent growth in medical technologies, there is every reason to hope that the infant deaths would just go on to steadily decrease, with passage of time. (1)This report on infant deaths is a fairly exhaustive one, and hence, all the points present in it cannot be covered in a brief write-up such as this one.

Yet, a sincere attempt has been made to encompass the most salient of all the related aspects. Source1) ‘Deaths: Preliminary Data for 2007”, cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr58/nvsr58_01.pdf, Internet, National Center for Health Statistics, August 2009.